By Andrea Goeglein
Synchronicity, gratitude and smiling are three things that show up in my days whether I plan them or not. Synchronicity seeds gratitude and gratitude usually brings a smile to my face. When I pause and write down the synchronistic events that seeded the gratitude, I know I have increased the probability that I will positively elevate my mood – and that makes me smile, too.
Dr. Success Challenge: Before you read how it worked during last week for me, think back on your week. What seemingly unrelated events occurred that caused you to feel gratitude?
This is how it looked in my life recently. As will regularly happen, a friend shared a TEDx talk she was enjoying – one of Wendy Suzuki’s talks on the positive benefits of exercise on the brain and mood. I took a quick look and I was filled with gratitude for Marty Seligman and the brave team of academics who stepped outside the box in the 1990’s. Marty lead the charge to shift the conversion in psychology from attempting to fix what is wrong with us, to learning what is right. Once you knew what drove your values you use those attributes to build a more positive mood state upon which to build positive changes for your life.
Wendy did not mention Marty’s name in her talk, but that is where my mind and heart went. The thought made me feel gratitude and I smiled at having been introduced to his work so early in its creation. Random, unrelated acts happily colliding to cause feelings of gratitude and a smile.
A small moment in time with a positive effect which would have been totally lost if I did not pause to notice the connection. The reason I paused? Initially I wanted to send Marty a note of gratitude. The thought of where to find his email floated through my mind – and quickly I was on to other things. I did not stop and write that email. Then I got my daily email blast from Michael Hyatt. Hyatt’s subject: Secret Power of Smiling. I smiled again.
Every time I hear the research on smiling as a life-enhancing technique my mind also goes back to Gary Russo. No PhD in psychology or a life-time of research to his name, but in 2011 he knew intuitively that smiling would help make a challenging work situation better. He did not know the research, he just took action. Gary knew what Hyatt spoke, “Smiling is one of the simplest, lowest-cost solutions to building quality relationships.”
Notice, appreciate, smile. Smile, appreciate, notice. No matter the order, just do it. Welcome to June.
Thank you @MartinEPSeligma @PennPosPsychCtr and @MichaelHyatt
The post Synchronicity, Gratitude and Smiling appeared first on Andrea Goeglein is ServingSuccess.
